At MA.DE Bistro, the investor desired the project to be a service complex that, in addition to its business functions, would incorporate regional cultural values and a sense of local identity into its design. This ambition placed cultural integrity at the heart of the design narrative, emphasizing respect for the land and its heritage.
Robert A.M. Stern, the American architect, educator, and historian whose work shaped both the physical and intellectual landscape of contemporary architecture, has died at the age of 86. His passing was confirmed by Robert A.M. Stern Architects (RAMSA), the New York-based practice he led for more than five decades. Known for advancing a contextual, historically informed approach during decades dominated by modernist and high-tech architecture, Stern remained a prominent voice advocating for continuity, urban civility, and an understanding of architecture as part of a longer cultural lineage.
Near Aroeira, where the Atlantic breeze tempers the pine forest and low density preserves quietness, this dwelling arises from the clients’ desire for a private, simple, and refined atmosphere — a discreet house that does not impose itself on the act of inhabiting, but instead nurtures it. A retreat from the bustle of city life they once knew, capable of embracing a calmer, slower rhythm. Rooted in an idea shared by the couple, the project takes form as a contemporary reinterpretation of the Mediterranean and Islamic courtyard house: an introverted ensemble of spaces that open inward, articulated through patios that regulate light, air, and temperature, weaving an intrinsic dialogue between interior and exterior — not through rigid boundaries, but through subtle thresholds.
On November 20, 2025, the Mississippi Museum of Art (MMA) confirmed the purchase of Fountainhead, a house designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1948 and completed in 1954. The renowned modernist architect designed the residence and its furnishings for oil businessman J. Willis Hughes, who lived there with his family until 1980. Established in 1911, the MMA is the largest art museum in the state of Mississippi, offering exhibitions, public programs, artistic and community partnerships, educational initiatives, and opportunities for exchange year-round through a permanent collection of paintings, photography, multimedia works, and sculpture. The purchase is part of the Museum's goal to embed itself in neighborhoods across the city in ways that support its community-building priorities, making the architectural landmark available to the public for tours with reservations. The initiative is inspired by institutions such as the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, which acquired the Wright-designed Bachman-Wilson House in 2015.
Across India's varied geographies, from coastal backwaters to desert fortress cities, architecture evolved with a deep, instinctive connection to climate. These were not isolated craft traditions but complete ecological systems in which material cycles, thermal comfort, and community knowledge were interdependent. As COP30 turns global attention toward the links between heritage and climate resilience, India's vernacular practices appear less as historical artifacts and more as climate technologies refined over centuries.
French architecture studio Coldefy, in collaboration with Relief Architecture, has completed the 650-pupil Robert Badinter Secondary School, the first timber-framed school in northern France. The school is located on a former railyard site, adjacent to the city's train station and a ten-minute walk from the town centre. The design and location of the new school is part of an urban renewal project that seeks to create a consolidated public transportation hub complemented by lively civic amenities. Located on the site of the city's Vauban fortifications moat, the site also contained catiches – subterranean chalk quarries – which had to be filled in to stabilise the ground prior to construction.
This captivating ensemble of form and design intent is a masterclass in creative storytelling, where every element converges to craft a unique narrative.
In public restroom design, innovation goes far beyond aesthetics—it transforms the entire user experience. One of the most exciting trends today is integrating all functional elements—hand dryers, faucets, soap dispensers, and paper dispensers—behind the mirror.
The Xinchang Globular Center, designed by Dr. Zhu Peidong and the line+ studio team, is a 120,000 m² sports and public complex and a major component of Zhejiang Province's "4+1" strategic projects. Positioned at the northern gateway of Xinchang—a county-level city in Eastern Zhejiang—the project supports the city's ambition of "a small city hosting major championships." Since opening, it has hosted national badminton and table tennis competitions and will welcome its first international snooker event in 2025.
Villa No. 13 is conceived around the interplay of open, semi-open, and enclosed spaces—a spatial composition structured by three exterior courtyards and an interior patio that together create an intermediary microclimate between inside and outside.
A Tale of Two NABs. In Sydney, there's a red staircase that connects two workplaces located 24 kilometers apart. NAB 3 Parramatta Square (3PS) and NAB 2 Carrington St (2CS) are Woods Bagot's fraternal twin workplace tenancies. Known by NAB as their "Sydney campus", together these buildings accommodate over 6,000 desks, providing a rare opportunity to boldly transform the bank's workplace experience in locations highly connected to both its established and emerging customer base.
Located 100 meters above sea level, in the Caboclo neighborhood of Paraty, the house is immersed in a natural incline of Atlantic forest that extends to form the Serra da Bocaina.
"As Stephen Hawking stated, humanity's greatest achievements have been obtained in encounters, and its greatest failures in non-encounters or, worse, in clashes. Today, this is more true than ever, and it is necessary and urgent to foster the birth of collaborations because we have enormous potential in terms of expertise and technology to be used, especially for the sake of Life. Architecture, through the creation of pleasant, reassuring, and stimulating environments and a conscious distribution of functions, is a tool to make human contact and the consequent transfer of knowledge more accessible and immediate." Michele De Lucchi
Concrete Villa is conceived as an L-shaped composition that embraces the landscape and defines a private outdoor courtyard with a swimming pool at its center. The architecture is guided by clarity and restraint: long horizontal volumes in exposed concrete are balanced by transparent glass facades, creating a constant dialogue between solidity and openness.
Urban renewal is inherently fraught—financially complex, politically exposed, stakeholder-dense, and almost guaranteed to leave someone dissatisfied. Precisely for these reasons, many cities default to inertia rather than risk the upheaval that comes with reworking entrenched urban fabrics, their residences, and their dynamics; once the "sleeping bear" is prodded, unexpected complications tend to multiply.
For decades, musical performances and other non-religious public gatherings were strictly controlled by the Saudi government. This practically confined most forms of public cultural expression, especially music, to the privacy of homes and gated communities. By 2016, the country witnessed wholesale social, cultural, and economic transformations to wean off religious extremism, improve the quality of life, and attract foreign investment. In 2019, a small group of entrepreneurs established Middle Beast (widely known by the acronym MDL Beast) to launch a series of large-scale music festivals across the country. This historic moment represented a dramatic shift in common attitudes towards public gatherings. More importantly, it is considered the first time that the hidden underground culture of electronic music was accessible to the public.
Two 36-storey residential towers have been completed on Irwell Bank Road in Singapore, featuring a pixelated facade designed by MVRDV. The scheme builds on the modular system developed by ADDP Architects, who designed the buildings using Prefabricated Prefinished Volumetric Construction (PPVC). MVRDV's facade introduces variation across the elevations and marks the locations of the communal green spaces on the 24th floor and the rooftop. Irwell Hill Residences, developed by City Developments Limited (CDL), is MVRDV's debut collaboration on a building in Singapore's urban core.
For centuries, the mountainous belt around Tbilisi has acted as the city's natural filter and refuge. Among these elevations, Tskneti stands out - situated on the eastern slope of the Trialeti Range, where the dense urban grid dissolves into oak and pine forests. Historically perceived as a place of escape, Tskneti offered an alternative to the noise of Tbilisi, a setting where architecture mediated coexistence with nature.
Amid ongoing global discussions on climate adaptation and resilient urban development brought into sharper focus by the outcomes of COP30, this week's architecture news illustrates how cities worldwide are rethinking their built environments. From Venice, where the 19th Architecture Biennale concluded with debates on material use and long-term cultural impact, to international awards foregrounding regenerative and socially responsive design, the conversation around architecture is increasingly intertwined with planetary priorities. Major urban interventions, from Thessaloniki's seafront redevelopment and Rio de Janeiro's new public library, to Abu Dhabi's Natural History Museum and a civic stadium in Birmingham, demonstrate how multiple cities are addressing mobility, heritage, density, and climate resilience. Additional plans, such as Mantua's ecological urban strategy, Utrecht's elevated landscape above transport networks, and Amsterdam Airport Schiphol's redesigned landside mobility system, further reflect a transition toward integrated, people-centred urban frameworks that prioritize environmental performance, public space, and long-term territorial stewardship.
The first edition of the ArchDaily Student Project Awards is officially open for submissions!